Skip to Main Content
The MindSumo platform is now officially closed. We thank our solvers and clients for 13 years of insight, creativity, and collaboration. For any remaining questions, please reach out to [email protected].
Predict the future of single-cup coffee
Challenge Type: engineering
See more like this check out our active challenges
$1,000
top 10
79
submissions
DONE
115 months

Single-cup coffee is a growing trend at home and away from home, allowing consumers to prepare one cup of coffee at a time. For example, in almost 20 years since the Keurig was first introduced, the single-cup coffeemaker has become a staple of kitchens and workplaces alike. As this trend continues to grow, what do future products and appliances look like for single-cup?

Deliverables

Tell us what you believe the future of single-cup coffee will look like. Specifically, provide detailed responses for the following questions:

  1. What will the single-cup coffee appliance of the future be like? How will it look? What features and capabilities will it have that current single-cup coffeemakers don't have? Provide an illustration or image if you can! What type of coffee product would go into it?

  2. What trends in coffee will single-cup appliances need to incorporate in the future? How do you see America's tastes in coffee changing in the next twenty years?

  3. Would this appliance go in all environments: at home and away from home in commercial settings?

  4. Would the appliance offer other types of coffee-style drinks or just black coffee? If so, what kind?

  5. Create an image, mockup, or design to help illustrate your idea.

CRITERIA: Remember that single-cup coffee should be convenient, consistent from cup to cup, and sustainable. Single-serve coffee appliances should be able to accommodate a wide range of types of coffee-style drinks.

BONUS: If you can tackle the problem of package waste, please do! We know some single-serve coffee cups are getting questioned because of the waste and lack of sustainability.

    Submissions will be graded on the following criteria:
  • Meets Deliverables
  • Creativity
  • Clarity
Reward Tiers
5 Winners
will receive $150 each
5 Honorable Mentions
will receive $50 each
Leaderboard
$150.00 Jonathan Cheng Drexel University
$150.00 Joseph Illingworth University of Utah
$150.00 Erod Keaton Baybay Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
$150.00 Pearce Kelley University of Massachusetts - Lowell
$150.00 Lucas Sanders University of Florida
$50.00 Marlena Ruthe Iowa State University of Science and Technology
$50.00 Juan Pablo Silvestre Instituto de Empresa
$50.00 Brian Tsan University of California, Merced
$50.00 Kate Szan University of Connecticut
$50.00 Dana Shk University of British Columbia
Submission questions


0 characters Average: 1719 characters
Your solution must be at least 200 characters long